Business As Usual
by ohlawsons
Summary: Reyes had to wonder how often Ryder conducted business with her clothes off, and if this was something he'd have to look forward to every time she stopped by. And as far as the drinks were concerned, Reyes considered that debt thoroughly paid.
1. Chapter 1

_**ETA: whoops i uploaded the wrong version, so here's the fixed one with some small changes to the convo with lexi.**_

 _ **A/N:** murder mystery! in which reyes doesn't quite tell the full truth, sophie tells too much of the truth, and business and pleasure are thoroughly mixed. part two will be up within a few days!_

 _also, can you believe this is the shortened version of my lovingly detailed description of sophie? i'm sorry. i made her too attractive and i am_ weak

* * *

Reyes was fairly certain that watching someone put clothes _on_ wasn't supposed to be as exciting as it currently was.

Then again, he and Ryder certainly hadn't been taking their time when they'd been taking them _off_ , and she was definitely moving with a deliberate slowness now. And Reyes, as predictable as he supposed he was, couldn't take his eyes off.

As for himself, he was already dressed. Not entirely — most of his light armor was still sitting on the other side of the room — but enough to be passable for a business negotiation. Which, this technically _was_ ; Ryder had walked in with that confident little swagger he'd noticed back when they'd first met in Kralla's Song, and she'd claimed to have questions about… Sloane, maybe? The Collective? Kadara in general? He couldn't quite remember _what_ it was she'd wanted to ask, but they'd only gotten halfway through the first question when Ryder remembered that Reyes still owed her for their drinks a few days before.

He had to wonder how often Ryder conducted business with her clothes off, and if this was something he'd have to look forward to every time she stopped by.

And as far as the drinks were concerned, Reyes considered that debt _thoroughly_ paid.

Ryder, perhaps, _didn_ _'_ _t_ , given the enticing and almost lazy way she seemed to be taking her time. She had her pants on, now, but as she stood — facing away from Reyes, towards the door — she stretched her arms over her head, letting out a satisfied little groan as she did. The muscles in her back and arms rippled and tightened as she moved, the warm brown of her skin almost glowing in the hazy red light of the Tartarus room. Reyes had been too distracted before to notice, but a tattoo ran down the length of Ryder's spine, a blocky, geometric pattern similar to the tattoo along her jawline.

She wasn't a _petite_ woman, by any means. Ryder did stand nearly a full head shorter than Reyes — and he wasn't exactly _tall_ himself — but she had a sturdy, stocky build that he hadn't fully noticed when she was clothed in her loose Initiative hoodie. Wide shoulders, strong hips, and—

Reyes' thoughts came to a full stop as Ryder reached back to re-do the clasp on her bra, muscles flexing then relaxing as her hands dropped back to her sides. He cleared his throat; there were clearly two options at this point, and only one followed the careful plan he'd been working on to get Ryder working for the Collective.

"So, you said you had some business to take care of?"

"Ooh, way to kill the mood," Ryder groaned. She turned to face Reyes, one eyebrow quirking upwards in amusement before she pulled her thin tank top over her head.

Reyes matched her grin. "I was under the impression we were finished…?"

Her head tilted to the side a bit, as if she were giving considerable thought to his unspoken offer. "Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Dr. Lexi can sense when I have too much fun, and the last thing I need is to have her track me down and jab me with more needles." It was a sentence that Reyes was certain actually made sense to Ryder. Without hesitation, she plopped down onto the couch beside him, sitting sideways to face him with one leg propped up against the back and one arm slung across the cushions. "So… murders," she drawled, brow furrowing. "They happened."

 _Ah._ He'd heard that there had been another murder in the Port, and he'd been hoping to earn Ryder's help with tracking down some solid evidence on the Roekaar. Well, Ryder and her fancy AI — Reyes suspected he'd need both to take any real action. Luckily, it didn't look like he was going to have to convince Ryder to pitch in with the investigation. "There have been a few—"

Ryder shushed him with a loud _shh!_ "SAM's giving me the details. Again. Because, uh…" She glanced towards where her hoodie was still strewn on the table, and added quickly, "It's sorta slipped my mind." After a moment, she nodded and turned back towards Reyes. "It's not Sloane, I guess. Almost got into a fight with one of her _guards_ over it. Or over guns. Or… there wasn't really a reason, I was just picking a fight. _Anyway_. Rumor is, it's the Charlatan's work?"

Reyes pursed his lips, forcing his expression into one that was thoughtful; he had to be careful, here, that he didn't unintentionally lead Ryder to follow the Collective angle. He couldn't encourage it, but if he was _too_ adamant she'd go after it anyway and probably think he had something to hide.

Which, he did. She just didn't need to _know_ it.

So, he settled for a quiet _hmm_ and a frown. "The Charlatan? I don't think something quite so… _overt_ fits them." Not a lie. "I have some contacts deep within the Collective." Also not a lie. "I'll reach out to them." _That_ was a lie.

"Could it be Sloane?" Ryder asked, lips pressing into a thin line. A determined edge had begun to color her voice, and she seemed almost as frustrated as Reyes had been in the past few weeks, trying to tackle the investigation on his own. "She's not the sort to have a problem murdering people in the streets, and it wouldn't surprise me if she kept shit from the rest of the Outcasts."

Now _that_ was amusing — the thought of Sloane doing something with any amount of duplicity. "No. Like you said, she doesn't have a problem murdering people in the streets. If it were her, she wouldn't keep it a secret."

"Well, then, just shoot down _all_ my ideas, why don't you." Ryder rolled her eyes. "If you're so confident it isn't either of them, then who is it?"

"The Roekaar."

Ryder glanced up, surprise shining in her whiskey warm eyes. "You aren't supposed to actually _have_ an answer."

Reyes smirked, pleased at having caught the otherwise unflappable Pathfinder off-guard. "I've been looking into the murders myself," he explained, "with some luck. I don't have enough hard evidence to please the Resistance, but I _do_ have a navpoint for the most recent murder. Your AI could solve the problem for me." He didn't miss the flash of suspicion on Ryder's expression; while the SAM implants were hardly secrets, the full extent of their abilities were largely unknown to most of the Initiative personnel. Reyes himself still didn't even know what, exactly, a SAM could do, but had tracked down enough information to confirm that biometric analysis and detailed environmental scanning were well within Ryder's capabilities.

 _Maybe_ he'd had to call in one too many favors to get the information, but it would be worth it. Considering Ryder's easy success with the Resistance so far, Reyes was confident that she had both the resources and the skills to prove a real threat to Sloane — or, at the very least, to be a thorn in her side. Plus, the reckless way she'd threatened Kadara's current leader just made the situation _that_ much better.

"Ah, I see," Ryder said with a knowing grin, "you're just using me for my fancy AI."

"You've caught me. But the Pathfinder that comes with it is a very nice bonus, at least."

Ryder shook her head at that, and laughed — she had a deep, throaty laugh that was as warm and inviting as the rest of her — before pulling her left foot up onto the couch to sit cross-legged. "I like you, Reyes. You've been good to work with, so far, and…" She paused, biting at her lower lip while her brow furrowed ever so slightly. "Being Pathfinder _sucks_. I mean, it's great, but it sucks, you know? Sometimes you just gotta go out and have some fun, and you've been pretty good for that, too."

"If you're ever up for more fun, you know where to find me." The words slipped out, thoughtless and automatic, and the wink that followed was almost as reflexive. Reyes managed to hold back a groan; it wasn't like he was going to _retract_ the offer, but, well… At this point, the Pathfinder was just a risky investment, one piece in a considerably larger web of a plan, and Reyes didn't want to lose sight of Ryder's role in what would hopefully lead to Sloane's removal.

Although, if she _wanted_ to make their relationship about pleasure as much as it was business, Reyes would be the last one to argue; he just had to keep his head on straight and not let one get in the way of the other.

"I'll keep that in mind." With another wide grin, Ryder stood, grabbing her hoodie and slinging it over one shoulder. "I'll go look into the murders. But just so you know — this puts you back in my debt."

Reyes held back the suggestive quip on the tip of his tongue; he was supposed to be keeping the focus on _business_ now, wasn't he? "I consider us even, Ryder. You should know by now that you don't have many friends, here in Kadara."

"Bullshit, Vidal. I'm perfectly likable."

"Oh, I agree. But," he pointed out, "given most of the exiles' history with the Nexus, anyone from the Initiative is going to have to work twice as hard to earn any trust around here. Plus, you've already gone and made enemies with Sloane."

She frowned, beginning to look thoughtful. "So how does this make us even?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"After sex _that_ good? I like to think that puts me at least in the _'_ _casual acquaintance'_ category, if nothing else." As Reyes spoke, Ryder gave a wistful little nod as if to agree, though he couldn't be sure _which_ part she agreed with. "You won't get Sloane back on your side, and most of the exiles care for little beyond credits. Me, though? I can give you information and advice, or even just be a friendly face in Kadara Port."

"Why?"

Honestly, Reyes hadn't even considered that Ryder was _capable_ of this level of suspicion. "You're good to work with," he answered truthfully, mirroring Ryder's own words from earlier. "I also have a vested interest in seeing the Initiative on Kadara. Settlements and trade are always helpful in my line of work," he added.

Again, he wasn't really lying. _Maybe_ he was leaving out a few things — like that he needed her help dethroning Sloane, or that putting an end to the murders would both improve Reyes' own standing with the resistance and undermine Sloane — but he was giving her everything she needed to know. Or needed to _hear_ , maybe, because Reyes could admit to already knowing that appealing to both Ryder's ego and her loyalty to the Initiative was the best way to ensure her assistance.

As expected, Ryder simply shrugged. "I _am_ pretty good," she pointed out. "Tell you what — I'll gather the crew, we'll head out tonight, and when we get back to celebrate, _you_ _'_ _re_ buying."

" _Impress_ me, Ryder, and I'll gladly buy the drinks."

* * *

" _Ryder, would you mind stopping by the medbay before you head back out_?"

Muttering a few expletives beneath her breath as Lexi's voice came over the shipwide comms, Sophie motioned for Vetra and Peebee to go on ahead, turning on her heel and heading back through the Tempest. She'd gathered a ground team, filled them in on the situation with the murders, suited up, and had nearly made it out the airlock before being summoned by the doctor.

She'd been kidding, before, about Lexi being able to sense _fun_ , but now Sophie was regretting even making such a comment.

"You called?" she asked brightly as she bounded into the medbay, pretending she had no idea where the conversation would go.

"SAM monitors your vitals, you know," Lexi began, not looking up from her datapad. "As your medical officer, I receive a readout, similar to what the life support systems in your hardsuit transmit. It is, however," she paused for a fraction of a second, her tone sharpening as she glanced up towards Sophie, "somewhat more detailed."

Sophie rolled her eyes. "Yes, I had sex. Yes, I was smart about it. And _yes_ , it was very good. Anything else?"

With a drawn out sigh, Lexi placed the datapad on her desk. "I'm not your _mother_ , Sophie. I'm not here to judge or restrict you. I am, however, your doctor, which makes this my business — however much we both dislike it — and while sex in a seedy nightclub in a town full of criminals is entirely in line with your normal behavior, I still have to express my concerns over it."

"I get that. But, look— this isn't the first time I've done something like this, and it won't be the last. I might be stupid, but I'm _smart_ about it, okay?" Sitting down on one of the beds, Sophie gave an exaggerated shrug and tried to hide the frown that was beginning to form; hoping she didn't sound petty or ungrateful, she asked, "Is this _doctor_ Lexi who's asking, or _psychologist_ Lexi?"

One of them would be appreciated, and the other…

Lexi had become something of a confidant for Sophie, someone she knew she could talk to without reprimand — mostly because it was Lexi's _job_ , and thoughts were easier to admit and feelings were easier to work through when it was the Pathfinder speaking to a psychologist, not Sophie speaking to a friend. Which Lexi _was_ , but it was still harder to speak with her when it wasn't through the facade of professionalism.

"It's both. And your _friend_ is concerned about what brought this on."

"No psychoanalysis?" Sophie bartered, eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"I can't promise that," Lexi admitted, then offered, "but we can hold off on discussing it."

That was good enough for her. "Look, I know it 'fits my psych profile' or whatever, but I don't make a habit of sleeping around with people I don't even know, so it's probably not as reckless or concerning as you think it is. I'm guessing by this point you've heard about the Resistance contact? The one Evfra set us up with?" Lexi nodded, and Sophie continued, "Best. Contact. _Ever_. He's _unbelievably_ good looking, he's got a comeback for just about everything I throw at him, and he has _amazing_ taste in whiskey. And his voice, Lexi, his _voice_." She would've been embarrassed, at least to some extent, at the way she was rambling and nearly gushing about Reyes, but she took comfort in the assurance of _patient-doctor confidentiality_ and the fact that Lexi had already heard worse from her. "He's the goddamn definition of charming."

Lexi was quiet for a moment, lips pressed into a thin line. "I see," she said finally. "You've found a kindred spirit, it seems. Goddess help us."

"Hang on, Doc, is that just a roundabout way of saying I'm charming?" Sophie grinned, glad that Lexi seemed to be refraining from any critical comments despite how clear it was that she was making mental notes that would no doubt come up later. It wasn't a discussion Sophie was looking forward to; one of her early psych evals aboard the Tempest, while she had still been thoroughly smitten with Suvi, had embarrassed her enough to last a lifetime. "But, you're right, I think." She hesitated. "But I needed this. Reyes has been… fun, so far. A reminder that not everything in Andromeda has to be all doom and gloom all the time."

"So you _do_ occasionally take things seriously."

"Only when I have no other choice."

With a wry smile, Lexi shook her head. "You make my job rather difficult, sometimes. I _am_ glad you've found a way to relax — you're right, you do need it — but I also believe there are better methods. Is your—"

Sophie cut her off before she could say anything further, standing and holding a hand out. "Nope, no psychoanalysis, remember? We can do the doom and gloom _later_. I've got some murders to solve." She gave a cheery goodbye — ignoring Lexi's sigh — and headed back through the ship to catch up with Vetra and Peebee.

The rest of the ground team was already down in the slums, waiting at the edge of the ceasefire zone and arranging for weapons to be sent down along with the Nomad. Sophie took advantage of the inevitable wait to slip into Tartarus, knowing she didn't have much time but wanting to give Reyes a heads up that they were heading out to the murder scene.

She knocked, waiting somewhat impatiently at the door to his private room. No answer. She knocked again, and this time was met with an annoyed response. "I'm not taking clients today."

" _Clients_?" Sophie echoed, amused. "I don't recall paying you this morning, but I'm sure we can work something out for next time."

The door hissed open almost immediately, revealing Reyes and an idling vidcomm. "Ryder," he offered as a greeting. "I wasn't expecting you to stop by so soon. Unfortunately," he added, a grin slowly creeping across his lips as his eyes raked over Sophie, "I'm in the middle of some rather time-sensitive business."

Placing her hands on her hips, Sophie took a moment to relish in the desire that was clearly beginning to form in Reyes' eyes. "I take it you like a girl in uniform."

He shrugged. "In uniform, out of it — I'm not picky."

"I'll keep that in mind, then," she promised, before turning her attention back to the reason she'd come in the first place. "But I _also_ have business — we're going to check out that navpoint you sent. The one for the murders. Figured you'd want to tag along, but if you're busy we could always just patch you into our comms."

Reyes looked thoughtful, fingers tapping along the edge of the table as he glanced from Sophie to the vidcomm. "Yes," he agreed slowly, drawing the word out. "That would be best, I think. I wasn't expecting you to investigate this so quickly, but…" He trailed off, still staring at the vidcomm.

"Good?" The word came out more as a question than a statement; Sophie had no idea what about the situation was unsettling Reyes. "I mean, we can wait for the _next_ murder, if it's more convenient."

"No, it's not a problem." Reyes looked up, expression once again smoothed out into one free of concern. "I have some arrangements to make, is all. Now, what do you say we get to the bottom of this so we can get back to the fun part of this association, hmm?"


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:** murder mystery pt. 2, ft the combat scene i've been planning out since i played it in game, and reyes realizing there's some Feelings getting mixed in with his business arrangements_

* * *

Three and a half minutes until the Roekaar returned.

Plenty of time.

Despite not having quite enough evidence to actually _act_ against the Roekaar for the murders that had been plaguing Kadara, Reyes had been monitoring them and — with the help of both the Collective and some outside contacts — he'd tracked down both the leader of the local group and the base they primarily worked out of. He'd had agents case out the location for a few weeks, managing to come up with a somewhat reliable schedule of patrols and meetings. At the moment, Reyes was taking advantage of that intel to be undetected at the base, affixing explosives to a few key points at the entrance.

Not enough to collapse anything, but enough to injure — or at the very least, _disorient_ — anyone walking through when they went off.

He had to hope that Ryder had enough sense to be discreet when she arrived, and not come barging through into the base with the same bravado with which she made _most_ of her entrances; not that he _expected_ her to actually be discreet, hence why he'd sent the navpoint immediately once she'd gathered adequate proof to placate the Resistance. She should've already arrived, which would've given Reyes enough time to explain his plan.

But Ryder was running late, and there was just over a minute left before the Roekaar arrived.

Throwing up a silent curse as he attached the final explosive, Reyes scanned the area, hoping to find some sort of cover where he'd be out of sight. Most of what he found required moving deeper into the base — not a good idea — until his gaze landed on a stalagmite-shielded outcropping that was nearly flush with the door. _Perfect_. It would give him a clear view of the rest of the base, and would allow him to easily slip away in case things got too heated.

Forty seconds.

Just as Reyes had folded himself into the shadows, he heard the whirring of mechanisms that preceded the opening of a door. He waited, detonator in one hand and rifle in the other, but then the door clicked open and loud, unabashed laughter filled the cave.

"Fuck you, Vetra. You were hanging on to _every_ goddamn word." _Ryder_.

"I asked if there was something going on." Vetra Nyx — Reyes knew her voice. "I didn't ask for a full recap."

" _I_ enjoyed it. You paint quite a picture, Sophie." A third voice — female, light, with the same sort of casual irreverence he'd come to expect from Ryder. As the group stepped into view, Reyes saw the voice belonged to an asari. "By the by, where _is_ Loverboy?"

Reyes pressed his lips together into a thin frown at the nickname; that gave him a whole new outlook on the conversation. _Although_ , he couldn't quite suppress the satisfaction he felt at knowing that Ryder had, apparently, immediately felt the need to spill all the details of their morning together.

Because, of course, he _definitely_ hadn't done almost the same thing with Keema and spent a good twenty minutes making sure she knew that he was beginning to change his mind on the Pathfinder. "More than an investment," he'd called her — Ryder was the real deal, she'd stick around to help him with plenty of Kadara's problems and she was _proud_ of the work they were doing. Reyes knew that _he_ was playing some part in drawing Ryder to Kadara, but most of her attention was fixed on removing Sloane and improving the lives of everyone living on Kadara. Ryder had the sort of idealistic optimism that had driven so many people to Andromeda — himself included, he supposed — but without any of the hesitance or delicacy that had stunted the Nexus thus far.

With as entranced in his own thoughts that Reyes was, he nearly missed the door sliding open a second time; a group of angara — the Roekaar whose return he'd been so carefully tracking — burst into the cave, quickly surrounding Ryder and her squad. They went back and forth for a minute — threats from the Roekaar, casual deflections from Ryder followed up by not-quite-threats — but Reyes wasn't listening, his attention now turned to the problem of his explosives.

He'd been planning to catch the Roekaar unaware, then come in with Ryder to clean up whatever was left; now, however, he had to take into consideration the fact that Ryder was _surrounded_ , and in such close proximity to the leader — _Farah_ , if he caught her name correctly — that to do any real damage, he'd be hitting Ryder as well.

The answer came when reinforcements began to make their way up from further in the base; it was strange to think of _more_ adversaries as a good thing, but now the explosives could actually serve a purpose. As Reyes waited for them to move up close enough, he caught a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye. The air around Ryder shimmered almost imperceptibly, her armor beginning to take on the faint glow of biotics. She snarled out something, voice too low for Reyes to catch, but the Roekaar leader responded by pulling out a knife.

It was almost instinctive, catching the glint of the knife in the scope of his rifle and pulling the trigger to send a bullet right through the leader's palm.

The angara cried out in pain, dropping the knife and clutching her hand to her chest as she called out orders to open fire. Ryder, at least, had the good sense to use the distraction to her advantage, darting behind a pair of heavy shipping crates that would serve as viable cover. Once she was no longer exposed, Ryder began searching the back of the base; when her gaze landed on Reyes, she gave an exaggerated shrug and called out, "What the _fuck_?"

Scrambling to get out of the open, Reyes jumped down from the overhang and darted forward to join Ryder behind the crates. She yelled something at him that sounded suspiciously like _you_ _'_ _re late_ , but the deafening _crack_ of a sniper rifle drowned out her words. He took a step forward, standing closer than was strictly necessary, and promised, "You'll thank me in a minute." With a wide grin, Reyes dashed to the side, kneeling down behind a thick cluster of stalagmites that gave him a clear view of the rest of the base's interior. "Can you push them back?" he called out over the gunfire. "With your biotics? Can you get them closer to that ledge?"

"Can I _what_ with my biotics?"

" _Push_ them!"

Ryder was still giving him the same _what the fuck_ look of confusion she'd had since first seeing him; it was the asari who answered, her voice coming clearly over their commlink — which, up to that point, Reyes hadn't even thought to use. "I've gotcha covered." A moment later, there was a burst of violet at the far end of the base that tapered down into a writhing mass of biotic energy and pulled several of the angara towards it.

"Peebee, you're a genius—"

Ryder's words were cut off as Reyes activated the detonator, and the blast from his carefully placed explosives sent a wave of heat rolling back towards them. The angara caught in the biotic field were all thrown back, and several other angara up on one of the far ledges were knocked off their feet. "You're welcome," Reyes said — over comms, this time — and leaned out between the stalagmites to take a few shots at the remaining Roekaar.

He was lining up another shot on one of the recovered snipers when he caught a blur of motion at the edge of his scope. As he pulled back, Reyes glanced to his left to find a grenade that had landed just a few feet from his cover. With a grimace, he prepared to dive towards his right, to where Vetra was kneeling behind a single shipping crate. Before he could move, a flash of purple sparked in front of him and the grenade was sent scattering away; Ryder appeared next to him in the same moment, hand outstretched and creating a biotic barrier that was just large enough to shield both of them as they knelt down.

The sounds of battle were strangely dulled from the other side of the barrier, and before Reyes could really react to the entire situation there was another flash and the muted _bang_ of the grenade. Ryder gave him a silent wink, then collapsed the barrier and rolled back to take cover again.

So she _was_ decent in combat, and cocky as hell.

Reyes turned his attention back to the remaining angara, and between himself and Ryder's crew the Roekaar were taken care of rather quickly. When they finished with the last sniper — thanks to Ryder, whose well-placed biotics had sent the angara floating helplessly into the air, in the perfect position for Vetra to line up a shot — Reyes stood, slowly, groaning and rolling his shoulders. "Not quite according to plan," he commented lightly, joining Ryder over towards the entrance, "but we've done a good thing for Kadara Port."

"Where the hell were you?" Ryder asked, her tone less accusatory now than it had been a few minutes before.

"Waiting for you. _You_ _'_ _re_ the one who was late, by the way." Reyes motioned back to the blast marks and scorched ground. " _I_ was setting up a surprise for our angaran friends, which actually worked surprisingly well."

"The explosives," Vetra guessed, browplates shifting into an expression that almost looked appreciative. "Nice work."

Reyes gave a pointed glance back towards Ryder before turning to Vetra. "Thank you. Good to see _someone_ appreciates my initiative."

The asari joined them, tossing one arm casually over Ryder's shoulders and planting her other hand on her hip. "Oh, I think Sophie appreciates your _initiative_ — among other things," she assured him with a barely concealed smirk.

"I know." With a wink in Ryder's direction, Reyes strode past the group towards the entrance of the base; as the door slid open, he turned on his heel and took a few steps backwards. "If you feel like stopping by Tartarus later, drinks are on me." He turned back, and just barely caught Ryder's response before the door closed again.

"Doubt it, but I'll be there."

* * *

Ryder had _seemed_ completely sober when she stopped by Reyes' room in Tartarus a few days later, spending the first few minutes leaning up against the doorway and matching each of his quips and comments with one of her own; but then she'd dropped down into his lap, hands already tugging at his jacket as she pulled him into a rough kiss, and Reyes could taste the whiskey on her lips.

"You've started drinking without me," he accused, mock hurt coloring his voice. One hand rested on Ryder's thigh and the other settled at her waist, holding her as she pressed her forehead against his. "Am I really such bad company?"

"Don't try to be charming," she shot back. "I've got ten minutes and SAM says Lexi's threatening to leave without me."

"Leave?" Reyes echoed, as if it had ever been in question; Ryder was better than this, better than an unnoteworthy smuggler and a port full of criminals, and it wasn't like either of them had ever entertained the idea that she'd stay long. But, faced with the end of two weeks spent with Ryder — two weeks filled with drinking and dancing and sex and the occasional business arrangement — Reyes found himself oddly opposed to the notion.

Kheema had used some ridiculous angaran expression to describe how _hopeless_ he was; Reyes hadn't believed her, not then, because it was about business.

Wasn't it?

Maybe. But it was also very much about Ryder — about _Sophie_ — about the comfortable weight of her as she rested against him, about the whiskey she'd been drinking and the way her hair always smelled a bit like strawberries, about that spark of idealism when she talked about the Initiative. As content as Reyes was to continue to be lost in his thoughts, Ryder was kissing him again, her hands sliding beneath his shirt as she caught his lower lip in her teeth.

"Back to the Nexus," she breathed, pulling away just enough to speak. "Figured I'd leave you with something to remember me by."

"I assure you, you aren't someone who's easy to forget."

"What'd I say about trying to be charming?"


End file.
